USA Firms attitude to unions

[mrjohn]

I would be grateful if some of our American cousins could let me know do USA firms in the nuclear industry have a friendly attitude towards trade unions.

The reason i ask this is that i work in a British power station and it looks like we could be bought by an American firm.At the moment the unions have an excellent working relationship with management and i would hope that continues with the new owners.

[jjordan]

mrjohn,
that's not an easy question. Somewhere around 80% of the US stations have union agreements. About 65% are with the IBEW. I would like to think that there is a healthy working relationship between management, and the unions. I'm currently working at a non union facility. we are attempting to organize and bargin collectively with the assistance of the IBEW. I can honestly say that management there is not the least bit interested in allowing a union to be formed at any of their facilities, and have made it clear that they are prepared to spend a massive amount of money to insure that it doesn't happen. It all depends on which company buys your station. A lot of the larger utilities have both union and non union plants, so most know how to deal with unioin issues.wether it's a pleasant relationship will depend on which one buys your station. Good Luck
JJ

[HydroDave63]

I would be grateful if some of our American cousins could let me know do USA firms in the nuclear industry have a friendly attitude towards trade unions.

The reason i ask this is that i work in a British power station and it looks like we could be bought by an American firm.At the moment the unions have an excellent working relationship with management and i would hope that continues with the new owners.

Which firm?

[jjordan]

Which firm?

Yes,
Inquiring mind want to know!
JJ

PS Boy would that be an awsome shared resource gig! Sign me up!

[mrjohn]

The name of the firm that keeps cropping up as a buyer is Bectel,i dont know much about them but would be grateful for any insight into their attitude towards unions.

[jjordan]

Bechtel is one of the largest construction companies in the world, if not the largest. they usually build nukes, not operate them. Anything is possible though, they deffinatley have the resources. I've worked for them in a previous life. It was a union job, and was a good experience. Everything was by the book, no problems. Hope this helps,
JJ

[HydroDave63]

Or perhaps Bechtel will be the O&M front men. Duke, Edison Int'l and others bought some hydro units in the UK, which then went unprofitable after ex post facto tax law changes from Labour. I'd imagine it would be one of the larger multi-unit utilities, and considering that Exelon/AmerGen did start with a UK holding company's money....

[mrjohn]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys.